A previous switch assembly currently used in the tailgate of a sport utility vehicle for raising and lowering a window sometimes receives enough moisture to fail. The switch is located under a plastic panel outside the vehicle which partially protects it from the weather and road splash. However, sometimes enough water enters the switch assembly to cause it to fail. The prior switch assembly employs a TACT (or tactile) switch element, which is essentially a miniature push button switch. It is desirable to prevent moisture from entering the switch assembly to prevent malfunctions.
To avoid the problem of moisture in the switch assembly, the present invention employs a reed switch. The new water resistant reed switch assembly is illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described hereinafter.
A reed switch is a hermetically sealed switch, typically employing one or two reeds as the ends of electrical leads passed through the ends of a glass tube. The tube is heated, softened, pressed onto the leads and hence sealed at both ends. The tube contains an inert gas, reducing gas or vacuum. At least one of the reeds sealed inside the glass tube is a ferromagnetic material. Such a switch is normally OPEN, and when a magnetic field is applied from outside the glass tube, the ferromagnetic reed is deflected and makes electrical contact with the other reed, thereby changing the switch to a CLOSED state. Such sealed reed switches are conventional and commercially available in a variety of sizes.